It was the maiden first-class double hundred for the 24-year-old Ganesh Satish.
The Karnataka batsman said after the match at Chepauk: “Like I said yesterday, we had the firepower to chase 538 for the lead. We were a lot more positive today.”
Satish added: “There was a bit of a panic when Stuart Binny got out but when Gautam came in and batted so freely from the first ball, he was so confident, I knew we could build a partnership. They (Tamil Nadu) were on the back-foot.”
The 26-year-old Muralidharen Gautam, who notched up his sixth first class hundred said: “We cannot keep defending on this wicket and go into a shell. It gives bowlers confidence.”
He said, “I knew their bowling was inexperienced and we just played on their minds.”
Gautam revealed his shoulder injury was not serious.
Tamil Nadu coach V.B. Chandrasekhar said dropped catches close to the bat hurt the side.
“There is scope for improvement here. Had they been taken, the spinners would have looked sharper.
“And Gautam would not have been in a position to bat in the manner he did. He disrupted the spinners with his sweeps.”
Chandrasekar conceded the Tamil Nadu bowling was inexperienced — “It’s like throwing a baby at the deep end of a swimming pool” — but was confident that the bowlers had the confidence to come through.
Chandrasekhar also defended his team’s declaration late on day two.
